Concord University Assistant Professor of Physics Dr. Timothy Corrigan is the cover feature for the Winter 2015 issue of The Neuron. The journal is a quarterly publication of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research.
Corrigan’s research with ways of improving bioassays is discussed in the article “Sometimes the Best Things Come in Nano Packages.”
“Bioassays are frequently used to test for the presence or concentration of infectious agents or antibodies,” Corrigan explains. “For example, a pharmaceutical company may test for the presence of antibodies to determine the effectiveness of a new drug.”
Corrigan is currently experimenting with quantum dots as part of the research. He is assisted in his study by Concord student Matthew Kessinger, an undergraduate research assistant. Kessinger makes the quantum dots, a procedure he learned in a research internship last summer.
Quantum dots are tiny, semiconductor particles that when illuminated by light, glow a specific color.
Corrigan’s research is made possible by a $125,000 PUI Incubator Grant funded by the National Science Foundation and subawarded by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research. Preliminary work to develop the grant proposal was funded by Concord’s Research Trust Fund grant.
Dr. Michael Norton of Marshall University is a collaborator on the project, and has been awarded an additional $13,000.
To read an online version of the article visit http://wvresearch.org/archives/category/library/the-neuron-west-virginia-journal-of-science-and-research
